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WHOSE PREFERENCES ARE REVEALED IN HOURS OF WORK?
Author(s) -
Pencavel John
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/ecin.12276
Subject(s) - earnings , identification (biology) , economics , convention , wage , value (mathematics) , work (physics) , parameter identification problem , relation (database) , working hours , positive economics , labour economics , microeconomics , law , political science , management , computer science , mechanical engineering , model parameter , botany , accounting , database , machine learning , biology , engineering
It has become orthodox in economics research to interpret the association between hourly earnings and working hours as the expression of the preferences of workers. This convention originated in H. Gregg Lewis' explanation for the decline in hours of work since the nineteenth century. His explanation rested on an explicit resolution of the identification problem inherent in any quantity (hours)–price (wage) relation. For over 40 years, researchers have neglected this identification problem with the result that the findings in the purported “labor supply” literature are of questionable value. ( JEL J22, J23, C13)